Henry IV Part Two
'This, of the history plays, is The Tragedy ... the most lyrical Shakespeare ever wrote' Simon Schama
The old king Henry IV, sick and weary, must send out his forces - including the unruly Falstaff - to meet another rebellion that threatens to bring the country to the brink of civil war. But as the conflict grows, he must also confront a more personal problem - how to make his troublesome son Prince Hal accept his duty as heir and leave his carousing companions behind. Pitting youth against old age, son against father, carefree hope against the realities of ruling, this is an elegiac drama of pathos and regret.
Used and Recommended by the National Theatre
General Editor Stanley Wells
Edited by Peter Davison
Introduction by Adrian Poole
William Shakespeare was born in late April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon and died in 1616. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist.
Stanley Wells is Emeritus Professor of the University of Birmingham and Honorary President of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.
Peter Davison has written or edited forty books on Orwell, Shakespeare and drama; he was appointed an OBE in 1999 and awarded the Gold Medal of the Bibliographical Society in 2003.
Adrian Poole is a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge.